Dubai govt lists Islamic bond $750m
03 May 2014
Xinhua, Dubai :
The local stock exchange Dubai financial market (DFM) said here Wednesday the Dubai government listed an Islamic bond or Sukuk worth 750 million US dollars, increasing the value of all Sukuk listed on Dubai capital markets to 20.38 billion dollars.
The latest Dubai sovereign sukuk has a 15-year maturity and matures in the year 2029. The Islamic bond was issued by the Dubai department of finance last week.
With a total value of 20.38 billion dollars worth of sukuk traded on the DFM and its international sister exchange Nasdaq Dubai, the Gulf emirate is now the third biggest capital market for sukuk behind Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and London.
According to the Bank of America Merril Lynch, the Dubai sovereign debt surged to 54.8 billion dollars.
With the listing, the Dubai government took advantage of the positive market environment in order to refinance debt as the UAE economy advances at all fronts.
According to the international monetary fund (IMF), Dubai's debt to gross domestic product ratio stood at 100 percent in 2013. The IMF predicts the UAE economy would grow by 4.4 per cent for 2014 after 4.8 percent last year.
The DFM's chairman Essa Kazim said the listing underlines the accelerating pace of efforts aimed at reinforcing Dubai's position as the capital of Islamic economy and global sukuk centre "in line with the vision of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE vice president, prime minister and ruler of Dubai."
